If the Pittsburgh Steelers don’t seem to be preparing for the possibility of Aaron Rodgers signing with a different team (or retiring), it’s because they aren’t. While the New York Giants have been preparing contingency plans for the last week or so, the Steelers signed Mason Rudolph and continue to patiently wait on Rodgers.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Steelers are the most likely to see this through until Rodgers ultimately reaches a decision because they already have their backup plan in place.
“I’m hearing the Pittsburgh Steelers are in a position to wait on Aaron Rodgers,” Fowler said via ESPN’s Get Up this morning. “They believe Pittsburgh is the most likely to wait this out. They have a standing offer out to Rodgers and they already have their contingency plan in the building in Mason Rudolph. They can play him in a pinch, but they’re not looking at a lot of other options. Right now, it seems to be Rodgers or bust for Pittsburgh.”
At this point, the Steelers’ 2025 quarterback is either going to be Rodgers or Rudolph. Rodgers seemed to be holding out on his decision to see if he could convince the Minnesota Vikings to sign him. They reportedly decided against that but might not be fully out in case J.J. McCarthy doesn’t look good throughout the spring. In other words, this decision could drag out for another few months in a worst-case scenario, and Fowler thinks the Steelers are best positioned to wait it out.
That would mean they are comfortable with Rudolph as their starter if it comes down to it. Otherwise we would at least be hearing some reports about interest in re-signing Russell Wilson or working with somebody like Joe Flacco.
The Steelers managed to get both Darius Slay and DK Metcalf, who are trusting the organization to figure out the quarterback situation. I can’t imagine they were sold on the possibility of Rudolph being the starter. Could that mean that the Steelers have been pretty confident all along that Rodgers will eventually choose them for his last hurrah in the league? According to NFL insider Josina Anderson the Steelers are feeling closer to a resolution with him.
The Giants, who are reportedly the only other team with an offer out to Rodgers, may already be moving on.
“The people I’ve talked to around the league believe that the Giants could pivot off Aaron Rodgers if they haven’t already,” Fowler said. “I talked to somebody with the team who said, We started working contingency plans the moment we started bringing in free agents for visits.'”
Will the Giants signing someone else put a sense of urgency on Rodgers? It’ll limit his options with less to think about, but he may still be holding out hope for the long game with the Vikings.
